Bwog just checked in with a representative from the office of Hershel Katz, Adam Klein’s attorney, who confirmed that Klein’s court date remains January 18th. There have been conflicting reports, but that’s the word from the attorney.

More news this morning about Coles and Perez. Coles gave an interview to reporters at the Manhattan Detention Center yesterday claiming that “this whole thing has been exaggerated. It’s been blown up to the umpeenth,” according to the Daily News. Coles also told reporters that when Jose Perez (aka Stephan Vincenzo) was roused by police early Tuesday morning, he asked for a jacket and cops offered him a Columbia sweatshirt, apparently laughing. Coles told reporters that he planned to finish his time at Columbia: “Going to Columbia was my dream,” he said. The News also reports that Klein left the Manhattan Detention Center yesterday wearing his mother’s sunglasses and jacket to shield him from the cameras.

Its pretty clear there was some sort of agenda behind this. Although their (the frat bros) actions were inexcusable, a 5-month NYPD investigation to arrest a couple 19-22 year olds? Im not from the city, but it sure seems like there would be bigger fish to fry... Great use of taxpayer money.

NYPD uses much of its resources dealing with violations and misdemeanors, too. The crimes in question are felonies. Whether or not we believe they should be "bigger fish" crimes, the fact is they are "bigger fish" crimes according to the public policy decided by our elected officials.

Think of it this way. We may view the sale and purchase of drugs among students on campus as a harmless consensual activity that meets a market need. But the 'stream of commerce' isn't contained on campus to students. The money flowing out of Columbia from the Columbia drug market is flowing to drug suppliers off campus, such as the unsavory character who apparently intended to rough up a rival, and the producers beyond the suppliers. If these discussion threads are a reliable indication, then drug use is endemic on campus, which means a lot of drug money has been flowing out of Columbia into the NYC drug trade's 'stream of commerce'. The Kelly quote makes the point that while classmates selling drugs may seem relatively harmless up close, pull back and you see the drug suppliers and other entities funded by Columbia drug users that are not harmless, even if their harm does not strike directly at Columbia students. NYPD, after all, is responsible for policing the entire city.

I wonder what we would find out if a study compared the amount of drug money flowing out of Columbia to the amount of drug money from other similar-sized NYC communities. Which is to say next, I wonder whether this arrest turns into a wider effort by NYC and Columbia to clean up Columbia as a major funding source of drug activity in NYC.

I don't necessarily think that the undercover purchasers were active for all 5 months of that investigation, which is the impression that is given when such a length is mentioned.

As regards to an agenda, I'd like to be slightly optimistic and suppose that there is not all that much of an agenda at the higher levels of NYPD bureaucracy aside from getting to the higher level dealers. That being said, I would not be surprised in the least if one or two of the cops being sent out to do the arrests and grunt work might harbor some malicious sentiments against ivy league students, hence resulting in the sweater business. A good portion of NYC cops come from working/middle class backgrounds in which positive views of the 'ivy league/elite institutions' are not necessarily espoused.

They're good kids and in all other respects totally harmless - Coles is NOT a jerk trying to avoid taking responsibility for his actions so he can skip away to law school. He's a great and super kind guy who is trying to salvage what is left of his once bright future. It is easy for the press to focus on their one (granted, large) mistake and leave out any positive qualities, but remember that these are our friends and our peers who simply got mixed up in an unfortunate circumstance. Let's please stand by our Columbia community or, at the very least, extend to our class the benefit of the doubt.

you use the phrase "simply got mixed up".... perhaps you consider introducing the notion of CHOICE into your posting. last time i checked, no one simply gets involved in drug dealing. it is something you either have to opt in or opt out of.

btw: can we take a break from the "in the butt" references here? we all know what people are thinking, but come on ... it's kinda creepy homo-erotic stuff that we are getting some weird pleasure out of visualizing.

slippery slope man. of course we all know people who have actively decided NOT to deal drugs, and of course these guys were aware of the risks when they got caught up in the game, but i feel that we should not sully their entire characters on the grounds of this one activity. it IS easy for kids (and we ARE kids) to get caught up in situations that are bigger than they imagined because, well, when it's a big part of someone's social world it is likely easy to become desensitized to the crime aspect. while they made the decision to do something, admittedly, very irresponsibly and legally wrong, i like to think that in most of their cases, it was absolutely not out of malice. they made some social and business decisions that landed them in over their heads. they're not evil; they made a very irresponsible call that many other smart and genuinely good people could (and DO) make.

hah for sure we're grown up enough for accountability and responsibility yadda yadda - hey i pay my own tuition AND i dont sell drugs! but i also know that when i actually grow up and look back at my college days when im 40, i'll look at a lot of my decisions and priorities from today and realize i was a "stupid kid"

No Columbia's helping me - I'm declared independent - but I have no free ride and no bailout if I can't make my payments. It's not a big deal - I'm glad to be here and I don't complain, and I'm also not the only one.

Coles is foolish for talking to the press. I guess he's said nothing incriminating, but one never knows what will be important. If any of his friends are reading they should tell him to keep his mouth shut.

If anything Coles stands the best chance of making it out of this without serious punishment out of all of them. He was only selling weed... guaranteed he sold the cop like 1.5 or 2 pounds but still. I'm curious to see how their trials proceed

delusional if he thinks hes going to get into any LAW SCHOOL after all this , of all programs to pursue has he never heard of the Bar? Theres absolutely no way and even more so than that i highly doubt Columbia will allow him to complete his undergraduate education here. he just fucked over his entire future.

Coles is screwed, you think any prestigious law school is going to want to be associated with that? It's going to be very unlikely the C5 are going to be allowed to come back, much less get into anywhere prestigious. They've lost everything, and they knew the risks.

I'm assuming this is far more serious than the offenses they were talking about, but when we got spoken to about reporting offenses to the bar, we were told that if you come clean and show how you made changes based on your mistake, its possible to still be admitted. There would probably be a lengthy investigation on the part of the state bar he's applying to, but never say never.

My guess would be (assuming he doesn't go to jail), once this mess is over, he might have a chance if he takes a few years off and proves he's changed, he'd have a chance. Given, it probably wouldn't be at the top-tier school he had his eye on, but he might still be able to become a lawyer.

It's always been my dream to attend a school without pieces of shit tarnishing it.

I don't intimately know any of the offenders, but a consideration of the whole cannot simply ignore flagrant misdeed(s) even after a life of proper action (life which, in this case, is dubious at best). Any attempted argument to lessen the recent developments must face the fact that their actions have brought thorough dishonor to Columbia University, and thereby directly harmed every student and faculty member associated with that name.

I hope that the university considers the entire student body when evaluating what has happened, and what it means to attend and to continue to attend Columbia.

I respect support my fellow students, but only if they have earned it.

can you only process events by placing yourself at the center of them? i would much rather have 1,000 of these dudes than a single self-centered baby such as yourself.

your feelings towards drug use are irrelevant here. what these gentlemen did had absolutely zero effect on your life, and that the only outrage you can muster at the extinguishing of their futures is in regards to its effects on you is disgusting.

no one cares about you. you can make yourself feel important by trying to connect your stupid life to "controversial" events but ultimately you will go to bed alone, without anyone of any significance ever asking for your input on the matters at hand.

You generate insults towards my personal life based on my comment on a blog? Okay.

Firstly, what these not-so-gentle man have done does change my life, as it changes the lives of everyone who takes the time to read these posts and especially these comments. Their actions reflect that way that other people will look at the school that I attend, assuming that I don't drastically change my academic performance or do something like, say, get caught selling drugs. It's minor in the grand scheme of things, but given that summer job applications are currently being processed, I'd say that producing negative media coverage is a direct way to make Columbia University look bad. It won't control my being hired or passed over, but it is nonetheless a factor. I am allowed to to be upset that the actions of other people have negative consequences for me. You should be too.

I'm genuinely thankful that I'm not foolish enough to be directly connected to these circumstances, but I am irate that they DO have consequences, and are additionally a reflection of a community that I have grown to love.

As much as I should anticipate attacks on websites where I don't post my name and people don't have to post theirs, I'll state quite frankly that people do care about me. Blindly throw assumptions around all you want about my personal life, they are incorrect.

And so, derisive commenter, I have no insecurities about stating my opinion concerning matters at hand, such as these people being arrested. While you may consider it worth your time, perhaps even the matter at hand, to insult me as a person, I would prefer that you state your own contention on what these students have done, or else fuck off. Be grateful that you don't have hang out with me, and feel free to spend some time with other people who are share your particular state of mind.

Part of being mature consists of recognizing responsibility, not just being angry but searching for remedies. I won't pretend to know what the school should do concerning policy, or what the legal system should do concerning the issue of illegal narcotics. I do, however, think that what these students have done deserves strong action on the part of the university.

"oh my GOSH you went to that college where they do DRUGS? well i know someone who won't be collating documents for me THIS june"

i'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're the sort of person who endlessly repeated how your aunt worked "right across the river" from the world trade center for years post 9/11.

clearly we disagree on the morality of the parties involved. that's not my issue here. after all, people who do drugs never get mad at people for not liking drugs. funny, that.

what's so grating to me is that you and everyone else bemoaning the "damage" to columbia's reputation is that you all have a completely tenuous connection to the events at hand, but seem to find it necessary to thrust your hurt and outrage towards the center of the story. grand scheme of things, this will not have the minuteness affect on any real circumstance of your life. this is in contrast to the fuck-up kids (i reiterate: kids) who have now seriously damaged the rest of their lives. but rather than displaying some human fucking empathy or understanding, all you can think about is how this might affect you. you see people getting attention, and all your baby fucking ego can think is "clearly this attention must me meant for wonderful me" and when you find nothing there, no way whatsoever that this horrible ugly event is really all about you and your precious future, you have to craft some bullshit about how this is gonna make it SOOO much harder for you.

listen, man. i understand. i'm not mad at you for thinking the way you do. life is scary, and insignificance even more so. we all have our things that we need to do to try and shrink that void. but i swear to you that things are gonna seem a whole lot harder to you if you never learn to step outside of yourself. it's upsetting to me that people can be so self-centered, and cold.

You are correct, unfortunately, in stating that I'm being selfish about the issue in general. I am relating a very large part of other people's lives to the small consequences they will have to me. However, while I opined that what these students have done does hold a consequence to me, I also said, specifically, that it will -not- control any decision. Your opening caricature of the situation that I presented is therefore laughably overblown. I maintain that I can be upset that less-than-wise decisions of others have repercussions for me, but acknowledge that it's not the major issue, and thank you for redirecting the focus of this discussion.

-

I do want to address, however, the community that this university seeks to cultivate and develop. People who champion abstinence from illegal drugs certainly have their preachy moments, but feel compelled to impress their points of view because they are backed by legal authority. Doing something that is illegal is not some bold stance against authority or even a consistently productive way of supporting a cause. (As a side note, drug users -do- antagonize non-drug users. You may not, but I've witnessed my fair share of such incidents.)

Yes, these students are in what may seem at times to be an insurmountably difficult situation. The community can show support, but I hardly believe that inaction on the part of the administration is advisable by anyone except the offenders themselves. Eliminating drugs in a college community is not a realistic goal, but authorities would find their resolves quite empty if they didn't take any steps to assert their stance on the issue. Now, the way in which they enforce their operations may have suspect aspects, but I generally agree with steps taken to stop illegal activities.

For the record, Mr. Ha, I was greatly offended only by the way in which you stated your opinion. The infuriating condescension in your tone is merely commensurate to my own, so I'm willing to conduct a discussion as long as the intense (and to this point annoyingly false) accusations to my personal life stop.

kindly get off your high horse and stop defending the actions of stupid, misguided people who blew their enormous ivy league opportunities. their actions are a disgrace to our university because they show how our stupid, misguided admissions officers let in people like them and YOU.

whether you like it or not, their actions reflect on all of us and it is perfectly legitimate to be thinking of ourselves in lieu of them. after all, don't you feel a sense of pride when the names of theodore roosevelt or FDR or obama are mentioned? these are famous people who who went to OUR SCHOOL. now we get to hear names like Perez and Klein and feel shame that we went to the same school as these dirtbags. so stop trying to take the moral high ground by saying "oh, think of these poor victims! how dare you think of yourself!"

no, friend, because like it or not, when people think of columbia they associate it with people who have gone here. the names of a few drug dealers won't be that prominent in the long run, but it's the principle that matters.

You kidding?! Scarface only got fucked because he pissed off the wrong person--someone higher up in the chain than him. If he had kept in line like any good Ivy boy would have, then who knows how far he would have gone...sky is the limit when you're a true BAWSE.

You're obviously retarded if you think that that was the only thing that contributed to his downfall. Did you not forget the parts of the movie when his wife leaves him because he is being an ungrateful asshole, he gets totally strung out on coke, and he shoots his best friend Manny? Last I checked the whole point of the movie was to show that bad things can happen when you want it all

lol, yep I'm "obviously" retarded. heh, it's funny how you kids lash out when a point is made and it's not in your favor. As I said, he only got FUCKED because he pissed off the wrong person. The other shit is trivial compared to DEATH, lol.

"In this country you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women... And then when you deal the drugs, you get FUCKED."

Although Columbia University says that they take the recent student arrests seriously, students themselves do not. Recent student discussions on and offline reflect apathy. We understand that this is not the stance that all students take, which is why we approach you as an activist or socially engaged group on campus:

The community has been fractured. Not by recent drug activity, but by the lack of actions taken by Columbia University as well as student run publications to protect the students involved. It seems that the only level at which the university is involved is in clearing its name. The university as a whole seems disinterested in what's actually at stake-- the lives of the 5 members of the Columbia community. These are two elements of protection that have yet to be addressed and for which we can hold the administration accountable:

Protection:

1. The way in which the university puts the reputation of the school before its students2. The university's negligence in holding student run publications responsible for sensationalizing the event

It is our hope that your perspective clubs and organizations will be discussing critically the events that have occurred while keeping the aforementioned issues in mind. Establishing alliances and creating a system of support as soon as possible is of the utmost importance. Take a stand against university disregard and student exploitation. COMMUNICATE AND MOBILIZE.

Communicate amongst groups and mobilize to demand change.

Our goal is to (1) change the way students are understanding and discussing the media's warped portrayal of the event. This is a smaller goal within our larger one to (2) incite students to demand that the university take a larger role in protecting and supporting members of the Columbia community.

No moralizing here... just a realistic view of the immediate consequences. it is lose/lose for all. they go to trial and if convicted end up spending hard time and having a record. this ain't juvie. lose.

they provide the State with the information on persons higher up in this chain. they become known as stitches. they (and probably their families) are marked for life. no place is safe. ever. major lose.

It's not just the movies... It obviously depends on the higher-ups themselves, but some crime lords take things very seriously. There have been cases where a kingpin will wait 10 years just so the victim will let his guard down, before going out to kill them. Messing with drug folk simply isn't a clean thing.

"I remember when I got arrested for a drug sale back in 1985. One Westchester newspaper headline screamed "Biggest Bust in Mt. Vernon History." This was used by the prosecutor to try and blow up my case and convince the judge I was a kingpin. But I wasn't. I was a small fry who made a mistake, and because of the draconian nature of the drug laws, I was sentenced to 15 years to life for a first time non-violent sale of four ounces of cocaine."

the whole point of stopping illicit drug use is to prevent any other, far more serious things from happening -- murder, rape, etc. none of these kids were involved in anything of that sort, but by the clusterfuck of media coverage that's been going on, you'd think they each have a long list of bodies in their closet. for fuck's sake, realize that drug dealing happens EVERYWHERE and that the media has blown it out of proportion. yeah, kids in college do drugs. woopdy fucking do. they got caught and deserve the rightful punishment, but jesus christ, will everyone just calm the fuck down?

We need to start a fund to help these guys make bail. We can use our collective cash to buy bail bonds for Stephan, Chris, and Harrison. Bail bondsmen usually charge 15% of the cash bail, so we need $14,250 (15% of $95,000 the combined total of their cash bails). Assuming 7,000 undergraduates, this comes out to only $2.00 per student. Some students could give more, others could give less.

This is completely uncalled for. I do not know all of these students, actually, I only know one. But this kid had a great academic track record up to this point. He is a brilliant kid who during his time at Columbia did occasionally suffer from bouts of depression. Other than that, he was a campus leader who strove to make this a better place for students through legitimate means. His high-school track record was sterling, as was his character. From personal experience, I would never have guessed that he would end up dealing. However, I also cannot excuse him for that. Brilliant track record or not, a decision to deal is a decision, and he knowingly committed a crime (although to be fair, i do not think he ever realized or contemplated the risks as he was lulled into a false sense of security). I do not know what goes on in fraternity's on campus, I'd honestly rather not know, but it is telling that this person got caught up in this mess the semester he was most caught up in frat life.

Anyways, I have gone way off my original intention. The point is, we cannot fault admissions officers for accepting these students, clearly their academic record was sterling upon admissions as they remained here. If anything, we must blame the college culture that allowed them to overlook the perils of dealing.

Ok, somebody can be a nice guy but still make a wrong decision. Many people on this thread are making comments along the lines of "If you knew them...", "They are such nice guys..."," I hang out with they all the time..." That just means they are nice people - aka you get a nice feeling from being around them. It means they have a nice personality. Stalin was a mass-murderer and killed tens of millions of people - but I'm sure that there were people who genuinely enjoyed his company. Society doesn't throw people into prison because they're not nice. It throws people in prison because they break the law. I'm sure they were nice people - but they still made a wrong decision and must be held accountable.

Im sorry but did you see the cover of the spec?? They call THAT a drug stash??? Unbelievably bad police work if in New York City, this huge metropolis, that is all they can come up with and label it stash! There were 50 dollars on a table!!! Their lives are ruined, this university reputation for that??? Do you know how much serious drugs is being bought by club owners around this city at the elite most lounges??? Yet, those folks do open coke almost in public. I am no apologist for these folks, but that was no stash and it is not impressive police work.

Check the new york post. Klein had a wad of cash in a box labeled 3K as well as several jars of DMT and several bags of weed. It's by no means a huge stash, but it's still a relatively sizable amount of controlled substances.

That picture on the cover of spec. That was not a stash!! It was very very minor. 50 dollars on a table!!! For that lives are ruined, Columbia's rep hurt?? The biggest coke users and the dealers, at downtown lounges, constantly do coke in publicand they constantly get away with it. Weak police work. Very minor dealers.

Since when does an entire community or organization become defined by a single individual? It doesn't. Don't make generalizations. They are fallacious -- one person's actions does not have ANYTHING to do with the actions of the other members of the community. The same way that just because those 5 kids were dealing drugs, it doesn't touch YOUR personal reputation.

Let them navigate the shit-storm minefield that they've created for themselves. I'm not giving them any money, I'm not buying a stupid t-shirt, and I am not going to be sympathetic to any discussion about letting them return to Columbia.

If you do a side-by-side survey of students who find cigarette smoking to be a campus scourge and students who thinks drugs are evil, mind-damaging, addictive-on-the-first-try substances, you'll have a pretty good picture of who's never getting laid.

I wonder how this whole 'investigation' and everything got started... all reports say it was an anonymous tip to the CrimeStoppers hotline but that sounds way too convenient. It just seems like an easy way to drum up publicity for a program that encourages snitching (never a popular thing!). I bet the most likely thing is one of these gentleman's customers was caught, and dimed on these guys. Who, how and why we'll probably never know...but I have a feeling there was no 'anonymous tip'. I just can't imagine some college kid (either a 'friend' of these guys or not) taking it upon themselves to call the NYPD....thats just ridiculous.

For deleting a comment with the word "colored" in it, the use of which was (pretty obviously) pointing out how the dicks at various news organizations go out of their way to make non-white kids accused of crimes look worse. Seriously, you allowed a whole anti-semetic rant in an earlier thread, but snark is out of the question? Go fuck yourselves, you resume-building shitkickers.

Hi there- we're doing our best with comments, as the last few days have seen record numbers of comments on our site. Could you point us to the comment in question so that we can review it? Of course, you're always welcome to send your concerns to the editors at editors@bwog.com.

The comment I'm talking about was right where the newer, bitchier one is now--you know, the one where I'm saying you guys have apparently taken up Jezebel's disemvowelment policy without the fun and clever word for it. As far as the anti-semetic stuff goes--well, check out the first article posted on the drug bust and scroll down.

Also, to counteract the meanness you reacted to with such obliging good will, I'd like to suggest a little idea of mine to bwog: rather than letting the ignorant, uninformed Columbians writing about how these guys deserve it because they were selling dangerous drugs that will DESTROY YOUR BRAIN, maybe it would be educational/responsible of bwog to post some drug facts on the site. Namely? Addiction takes effort, and nobody gets hooked on any drug (not even the coke boogieman) from one try; LSD? Never conclusively linked to a single death. Whatever people think about drugs, don't you think all the straight-laced, authority ass-lickers here deserve to know that maybe, just maybe, what mommy and daddy tell them is wrong because mommy and daddy are dumbasses?

Well, I certainly feel safer now that these dangerous individuals have been caught. It also gives me great comfort to know that all the people who bought shit off these kids will never ever, ever do drugs again. ever.

You're no longer a kid. Grow the hell up. You're in college, not in your parent's house. If you need money, do it through a real means, like taking a real job. The shortcut called drugs has its risks, and they should be fully held responsible.

I wonder how this whole ‘investigation’ and everything got started… all reports say it was an anonymous tip to the CrimeStoppers hotline but that sounds way too convenient. It just seems like an easy way to drum up publicity for a program that encourages snitching (never a popular thing!). I bet the most likely thing is one of these gentleman’s customers was caught, and dimed on these guys. Who, how and why we’ll probably never know…but I have a feeling there was no ‘anonymous tip’. I just can’t imagine some college kid (either a ‘friend’ of these guys or not) taking it upon themselves to call the NYPD….thats just ridiculous.